Nwachukwu Iheukwumere Chima Moneke (born 24 December 1995) is a Nigerian-Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for AS Monaco Basket of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague. At 1.96 m. tall, he plays at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

position. He also represents the Nigerian national team in international competition.

Early life

He was born in Abuja, Nigeria, before moving to Canberra, Australia to begin schooling. His parents, Sydney and Eucharia Moneke, were diplomats of the Nigerian Embassy. He attended Farrer Primary School before traveling again throughout the world.

College career

In 2013, he enrolled at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska, where he stayed for two seasons (2013-15). In his sophomore season he averaged 17 ppg and 12.1 rpg which led the team to a 25-7 record. He then transferred to the

University of California at Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

. After his

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

season, he led the Aggies to an NCAA tournament berth for the first time in school history in the 2016-17 season. He was named Big West Conference tournament MVP. In the tournament they defeated NC Central in the play-in game where Moneke had 18 points and 12 rebounds. They would go on to lose to the #1 overall seed Kansas, where Chima finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds. He averaged 14.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game with 14 double-doubles In the 2017-18 season, with the

UC Davis Aggies The UC Davis Aggies (also referred to as the Ags or Aggies) are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Davis. Seventeen of the school's 25 intercollegiate sports - baseball, men's basketball, men's cross country, men's ...

he averaged 18.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per performance in 21 games.

Professional career

France (2018–2021)

After not being selected in the 2018 NBA Draft, he signed his first professional contract with the

Rouen Métropole Basket Rouen Métropole Basket, shortly named RMB, is a professional basketball club founded in 2011, based in Rouen, France. The team currently plays in the LNB Pro B, the French second division. History After playing in the Pro B for one year, the c ...

of the French

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since the year 1987. The regular season ...

. After the season, Moneke signed with the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The team play the majority of their home games at Jo ...

of the Australian NBL before it was blown off due to problems with his passport. In November 2018, he would leave Rouen Métropole Basket to sign for

Denain Voltaire Basket Denain Voltaire Basket is a French professional basketball club that was founded in 1947, and is based in Denain, France. The club plays in the LNB Pro B, which is the second-tier level pro competition in France. History The small club of the V ...

, also from the French

. He averaged 14.3 points, 6.6

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

and 1.7 assists in 27 games. In the 2019–20 season, he signed for the Béliers de Kemper of the French LNB Pro B, in which he averaged 15.8 points, 6.75 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The season was cancelled early due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. In the 2020–21 season, he signed for the

Orléans Loiret Basket Orléans Loiret Basket, formerly known as Entente Orléanaise and Entente Orléanaise 45 Loiret, is a professional basketball club that is based in the city of Orléans, France. "45" is the number of Loiret. The club plays in the French Pro A Le ...

of the LNB Pro A, with averages of 12.5 points, 6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and almost a block per performance in the 21 games played.

Manresa (2021–2022)

On July 13, 2021, Moneke signed a one-year-deal with the

Bàsquet Manresa Bàsquet Manresa, S.A.D., also known as Baxi Manresa for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Manresa, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and Basketball Champions League. Their home arena is the Pavelló Nou Congost. ...

of the Spanish

Liga Endesa The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

and the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercont ...

(BCL). He helped Manresa to a surprising season in the BCL as they reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

where they lost to

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

in the final. Moneke was named the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the 2021–22 season after averaging 13.1 points per game. In the Spanish ACB, Moneke was named to the ALL-ACB 1st team after leading Manresa to the playoffs. He averaged 14.8 points per game on 53% percent shooting. He was second in the entire league in rebounding with 8.4 per game. He led the entire league in total steals (56), steals per game (1.6) and defensive rebounds.

Sacramento Kings (2022–2023)

On July 18, 2022, Moneke signed with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

, uniting with Nigeria's national team coach Mike Brown. On January 6, 2023, Moneke was waived by the Kings.

Monaco (2023–present)

On January 16, 2023, he signed with AS Monaco Basket of the LNB Pro A.

National team career

He debuted with the Nigeria men's national basketball team in 2020, playing three qualifying matches for the Afrobasket. In 2021, he was summoned for the pre-selection to compete in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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, 2 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .500 , , , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="11",

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 33 , , 27.3 , , .527 , , , , .645 , , 9.5 , , .8 , , .9 , , 1.4 , , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 21 , , 30.0 , , .515 , , .375 , , .714 , , 9.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 18.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 57 , , 54 , , 28.3 , , .522 , , .375 , , .674 , , 9.5 , , .9 , , .9 , , 1.3 , , 16.0

Personal

Moneke attended Canberra High School and Lake Ginninderra College in Canberra, Australia where he played high school basketball with Dante Exum.

References

External links

Chima Moneke
at

RealGM RealGM.com is a sports website created in 2000. The site was originally a basketball site, but has since expanded its scope to provide information about American football, baseball, ice hockey and soccer. According to Alexa, the site ranked in th ...

FIBA

UC Davis Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moneke, Chima 1995 births Living people Australian men's basketball players Bàsquet Manresa players Denain Voltaire Basket players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Liga ACB players National Basketball Association players from Nigeria Nigerian expatriate basketball people in France Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Spain Nigerian men's basketball players Orléans Loiret Basket players People from Abuja Power forwards (basketball) Rouen Métropole Basket players Sacramento Kings players Stockton Kings players UC Davis Aggies men's basketball players Undrafted National Basketball Association players